Entrepreneurship 101: The Main Reasons You Need a Business Plan

Image: – – Macho Spouse

You have captured your small business idea, now what do you do? If you are like me, once the idea is seeded in your mind, you begin to brainstorm the best way forward. But what is the best way forward. Depending on your own personal experiences, getting your mind caged to help your idea might be one of the most challenging things you do.

I think one of most amazing aspects of starting a business is the pure creation of the endeavor. I think the concept of turning your thought, a series of synapses that fired in your brain, into an existing and tactile entity is one of the best attributes to being human. I personally think this pure creation provides is what provides deep satisfaction and feeds the soul of man and woman. Despite the feelings that great ideas provoke, it is still hard to see the path forward if you don't know how to proceed. This is where the business plan fits in nicely.

Organize Your Idea More Efficiently

Once you have captured your idea, entranced with its wonder, you may have the compulsion to dive into your new idea by searching high and low for information relating to the subject. I know that is what I did! While I certainly can't fault this type of action, there may be a better way to utilize your time, effort, and money.

If you are not familiar with a business plan or what it does, let me give a brief explanation. In the simplest of terms, a business plan is a written description of your business and is typically divided into the following categories:

The business plan is also a living document, which means it should be updated frequently to account for any changes that affect your business. As you can see, it is thorough but very effective at breaking down your very new idea into smaller, more manageable bites.

One more thought. It is a big list; don't worry if you are not immediately able to fill in all parts of the document. Remember, entrepreneurship and small business creation take time. Be passionate and attack each section independently. Add new information and ideas as you go along and before you know it your idea, and your business plan will be more robust.No Business Plan, No Bank Money. Period.

If you are unable to self-fund your small business, you must have a rock-solid business plan to get external funding. Banks are in the businesses of making money. As such, they are not going to lend money to you just because you are a nice guy. Remember, you are a new business with no track record and no brand that proves to the bank you are a good funding proposition. They need to see your business is going to work, and more importantly, you need to “sell” it to them to get your loan money. This is especially true since the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Lending is exceptionally tight now which makes having a rock-solid business plan a main priority.

See also...

The 2nd Annual Macho Spouse of the Year Award is given to a male military spouse who dedicates himself to the betterment of his family, neighbors, and everyone around him. The 2014 competition had several very deserving men, but two really grabbed our attention: Chris Corbin and Joey Trotta.

Chris Corbin is an Air Force spouse currently living in Minot...hey why not Minot? Not only is he a dad to two young kids, but he also works at the base thrift store, works with the squadron booster club, and has been voted the new president of the Officer's Spouses Club on base. Oh yeah, he's also training to compete in his first 70.3 Ironman race next month.

Joey Trotta is a Navy spouse currently living in the DC area and he has three children, one of which has leukemia. Raising three children with an active duty spouse is hard enough, but toss in the challenges of leukemia and many guys would shut down, not Joey. Joey made himself into and educator and advocate. He donates so much of his time to childhood cancer awareness either in the children oncology ward at Bethesda Naval Hospital or on the steps of the Washington monument during childhood cancer awareness week.

We were looking around and found this advice at Mr.Dad.com and thought we would shar with you. It certainly is a career field that is, parden the pun, very mobile.

Let's face it, the best career involving four wheels and an engine block is a race car driver or a big shot engineer. But if you don't have Speed Racer driving skills or a Henry Ford brain, plenty of unique and fun automotive careers are still abound. You just have to know what you're looking for.

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About Macho Spouse...

Macho Spouse is an educational video series and online resource for male military spouses.

Our mission is to help male military spouses connect with one another and assure that we are not alone in this military family lifestyle.